St. Croix River
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 St. Croix River at Vanceboro, Maine. | |
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| Location | |
| Country | Canada/United States |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Chiputneticook Lakes |
| Mouth | |
• location | Passamaquoddy Bay |
• coordinates | 45°04′23″N67°05′35″W / 45.073°N 67.093°W /45.073; -67.093 |
• elevation | sea level |
| Basin size | 1,500 sq mi (3,900 km2) |
TheSt. Croix River (French:Fleuve Sainte-Croix;Maliseet-Passamaquoddy:Skutik) is ariver in northeasternNorth America, 71 miles (114 km) in length,[1] that forms part of theCanada–United States border betweenMaine (U.S.) andNew Brunswick (Canada). The river rises in theChiputneticook Lakes and flows south and southeast, betweenCalais andSt. Stephen. It discharges intoPassamaquoddy Bay, in theBay of Fundy.
The river forms from the Chiputneticook Lakes (North Lake, East Grand Lake, Mud Lake, andSpednic Lake) along the Canadian–U.S. border.U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps show the St. Croix River as beginning at the 1.0-mile-long (1.6 km) outlet stream from East Grand Lake, then flowing through the short Mud Lake and entering Spednic Lake, extending 20 miles (32 km) to its outlet atVanceboro, Maine, and the start of the river proper. Adding the section of river and lake from the outlet of East Grand Lake gives a total length of 95 miles (153 km) to the St. Croix.[1]
The total drainage area of the river is approximately 1,500 square miles (3,900 km2). In the 20th century, the river was heavily developed forhydroelectric power. The river had previously hosted a large population ofAtlantic salmon; however, the salmon population was reduced after building hydroelectricdams upriver from Calais-St. Stephen.
The river is anestuary between Calais-St. Stephen and the river'smouth atRobbinston andSt. Andrews. This tidal area extends for approximately 16 miles (26 km) along this section and exhibits atidal bore.
The Saint Croix River was an early trade corridor to interior Maine and New Brunswick from the Atlantic coast. Ocean ships could navigate upstream to Calais and St. Stephen; althoughtidal fluctuation madeEastport a preferred port for deeperdraft vessels. The river upstream of Calais and St. Stephen became an important transportation corridor forlog driving to bringwooden logs andpulpwood from interiorforests tosawmills andpaper mills built to usewater power at Calais andWoodland.[2]
The boundary issues of the St. Croix River came out of theTreaty of Paris that was signed in 1783. The geography of the river was not charted clearly until theJay Treaty (1794), which provided provisions for surveying the boundary.[3] The boundary between Maine and New Brunswick north of the headwaters of the Saint Croix took another four decades to establish. Following theWar of 1812 there was a push to settle this disputed territory north of the St. Croix on the St. John watershed and it remained in dispute until 1842. During this conflict Maine,Massachusetts and New Brunswick continued to issue some lumbering permits to the disputed territory. With or without a permit, lumbermen were in a race to cut the best timber from the land while it was under dispute. Although it was illegal to cut trees with no permit, theSaint John River enabled this activity because it increased business at the local mills, shipyards and timber ponds in New Brunswick so the officials were slow to halt the ongoing illegal activity.[4]
During this time, the lumbermen were very serious and competitive about the trees. Whoever got to the best trees first claimed them.Dynamite was used as a tool ofsabotage to blow up some of thelog booms that were strung across the river to catch the recently cut trees. It is also known that at times the timber men purposely sorted their logs incorrectly to attempt to confuse local officials charged with regulating timber trade and transportation.[5]
Prior to 2001, it was possible for boaters to use campsites on both sides of the river. However, boaters must now stay on the same shore that they entered from, and report their trip to the appropriate border agency.[6]
TheWater Survey of Canada maintains sixriver flow gauges in the St. Croix River watershed:
TheUnited States Geological Survey maintains two river flow gauges in the St. Croix River watershed.
USGS also maintains awater chemistry monitor atMilltown, Maine (45°10′11″N67°17′50″W / 45.16972°N 67.29722°W /45.16972; -67.29722) where the rivershed is 1,455 square miles (3,768 km2). Forwater year 2001, thepH ranged from 6.6 to 7.2.[7]
Seven active international bridges cross the river at the following locations:
One defunct crossing exists:
HMCSSt. Croix (I81), previously USSMcCook (DD-252), became a Canadian ship in 1940 as part of theDestroyers for Bases Agreement. It was renamed after the St. Croix River to follow the Canadian tradition of namingdestroyers after Canadian rivers while recognizing the shared national history of the ship.[8]
New Brunswick Power has indicated their desire toremove the 138 year old Milltown Dam on the St Croix River between St. Stephen, New Brunswick (Canada), and Calais, Maine (USA). Currently, New Brunswick Power stakeholders, government officials, thePeskotomuhkati Tribe, locals, and the public are examining this proposed dam removal. Milltown Dam removal would restore Salmon Falls between St. Stephen and Calais. The Peskotomuhkati Tribe is also advocating for the removal of Milltown Dam and the full restoration of Salmon Falls. Milltown Dam was built in 1881 by New Brunswick Power and is the oldest operating hydro facility in Canada.Atlantic Salmon,shad,eels, andalewives would all benefit from this dam's removal and ongoinghabitat restoration. St Croix Riveroxygen levels would also improve with the restoration of Salmon Falls.
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